Burslem taxi marshal service to be scrappedCAB drivers and revellers have hit out at plans to scrap a town’s late night taxi marshal service on busy weekends.
Stoke-on-Trent City Council are set to save £15,000 by slashing Burslem’s taxi marshals on Friday and Saturday nights.
The council scheme was extended across Stoke-on-Trent in 2011 to ensure people got home safely after a night out.
But now only Hanley will benefit from the scheme.
Chairman of the Hackney Carriage Association, Muhammet Koyuncuoglu, said:
“Marshals do a very good job. They provide an important public service and make people feel safe.
“We would love them to stay in all areas of Stoke-on-Trent and we will do our best to get as many as possible to stay. They help stop illegal pick-ups, control transport disputes and help us a lot.”
Burslem’s revellers were also unhappy with the proposals.
Stanley Littlejohn, aged 26, of Abbotts Drive, Sneyd Green, said: “I think it’s a bad idea as Burslem’s becoming a more popular destination.
“Therefore, taking away the funding for the marshals doesn’t really make sense.
“At the minute there’s a lot more people going to Hanley clubbing, but it doesn’t seem right to have everything in the centre of Hanley and nothing in the other towns.”
David Chatham, aged 49, of Queens Street, Burslem, added:
“They definitely need to have something there at night and policing it in some way.
“Maybe it could be a private company or something like that doing it if they’re cheaper.
“I’m not having a go at the police, as they have a tough enough job as it is, but I think the council should be supporting them in some way.”
But Matthew Hassall, aged 28, of Merrion Drive, Bradeley, said the council’s money could be spent elsewhere.
“I think it’s a good idea they’re getting rid of them,” he said. “They don’t do anything in the first place. Taxis are expensive enough as it is, but they’re more when you ring through with a marshal.
“They don’t do anything to sort out the problems that occur during a night.”
Regional secretary of the National Private Hire Association, Dave Currie, said: “The reports I’ve been getting from Burslem is that it’s currently working very well and the police are handling the town sensibly.
“Burslem is fortunate in the sense that their pubs and establishments are spread out, so there’s no one concentrated area where people are pushed together.
“There’s certainly a good case to trial not having the marshals there and seeing what the outcome is.”
A spokesperson for Stoke-on-Trent City Council added: “The Taxi Marshals Scheme is part of the City Council’s Security Services contract and provides marshals at taxi ranks in Hanley and Burslem.
“The service is currently provided by CBI Securities and aims to provide a safe and secure environment for people waiting at the taxi ranks.
“Data shows that marshals are not being called on to intervene in Burslem, and the level of demand in Burslem is such that there would be a very limited impact.”
Read more:
http://www.stokesentinel.co.uk/Burslem- ... z2omgfvCdX
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